1. Personal and Environmental Resources Mediate the Positivity-Emotional Dysfunction Relationship
- Author
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Katherine C Janus, Christian T. Gloria, H. Matthew Lehrer, and Mary A. Steinhardt
- Subjects
Health (social science) ,Social Psychology ,Adolescent ,Social connectedness ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Emotions ,Environmental resource ,Structural equation modeling ,Social support ,Interpersonal relationship ,Hope ,Adaptation, Psychological ,Humans ,Interpersonal Relations ,Emotional dysfunction ,media_common ,Communication ,business.industry ,Depression ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Social Support ,Resilience, Psychological ,Maladaptive coping ,Female ,Psychological resilience ,Psychology ,business ,Stress, Psychological ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
OBJECTIVES We investigated the relationships among positivity, perceived personal and environmental resources, and emotional dysfunction in adolescent girls. We hypothesized that perceived resources would mediate the relationship between positivity and emotional dysfunction. METHODS Participants (N = 510) attending an all-girls public school completed a survey assessing emotional dysfunction (depressive symptoms and perceived stress), positivity (positive/negative emotions), and personal/ environmental resources (resilience, hope, percent adaptive coping, community connectedness, social support, and school connectedness). Perceived resources were combined into one latent variable, and structural equation modeling tested the mediating effect of perceived resources on the relationship between positivity and emotional dysfunction. RESULTS The model accounted for 63% of the variance in emotional dysfunction. Positivity exerted a significant direct effect on emotional dysfunction (β = -.14, p < .01), but its influence was primarily mediated through perceived resources (indirect effect: β = -.43, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS The impact of positivity on emotional dysfunction is primarily but not entirely mediated by perceived personal and environmental resources. Schools should consider strategies to enhance experiences of positive emotions and/or decrease experiences of negative emotions, in conjunction with encouraging student awareness and development of personal and environmental resources.
- Published
- 2017